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Family Affair: Two GSU players enjoy having their families travel for the games

Hannah Youmans/GSU Athletics

During their 225-mile trip from Cairo to Statesboro, James Wilcox, left, and Charles Bryant talk about “the boys,” Georgia Southern football players Johnathan Bryant and J.J. Wilcox.

Georgia Southern’s Johnathan Bryant

STATESBORO —

About two hours before kickoff, Johnathan Bryant, J.J. Wilcox and their Georgia Southern football teammates unload the team bus for pregame workouts.

About four hours earlier, Charles Bryant, James Wilcox and his family pull out of Cairo and head for the same stadium. Once they arrive, their pregame workout will consist of tailgating.

When the stadium clock reads zeroes, Johnathan and J.J are eagerly awaiting the first snap.

And so are their families.

Sometimes J.J. will sneak a peek to the stands.

“Just to see dad up there smiling, hoopin’ and hollerin’, I can’t get any better joy than that,” he said. “I just want to make him proud.”

There will be proud moments for all the Georgia Southern players and their families when the Eagles, ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision, get a chance to play on the state’s biggest college stage.

Southern steps up in competition today to meet the fifth-ranked University of Georgia at 1:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium.

“Just to see your son out there playing, I can’t tell you what a treat that is,” the elder Bryant said.

Unmistakable joy won’t be the only common bond here for Charles and James as they watch their sons. They starred on the Cairo High School football team and saw their sons grow up and play for the same Syrupmakers.

Charles Bryant, a fullback, said he had an offer out of high school to play at Concord College in West Virginia, but chose instead to go into the Marine Corps. Eventually, he became a boxer and fought in the welterweight division.

James Wilcox, also a running back, played two years at Fort Valley State and was invited to the Miami Dolphins training camp before tearing his Achilles tendon.

Now the fathers make their livings by driving trucks. Charles delivers chickens from Thomasville to Mississippi. James ships plants from the Monrovia nursery in Cairo to 22 states.

Both make sure Saturdays in the fall on their schedules are open. The weekly 225-mile pilgrimage from Cairo to Statesboro — winding through Albany, Cordele, and Cochran before traveling east down Interstate-16 — must be ready.

“We’ll talk about the boys and whatever is going on with them,” James Wilcox said. “What kind of game we’re going to have. What team will show up, that kind of thing. Sometimes we’ll talk about life.”

Parallel universes

Johnathan Bryant has seen the tapes, although he wouldn’t swear the figure amid black-and-white haze in unfamiliar Cairo Syrupmaker football garb had any relationship.

So there is tangible proof out there backing up what sometimes sounds like time-exaggerated truth.

“My dad and J.J.’s dad were running backs and they were pretty fast. Everybody (in Cairo) talks about them,” Johnathan said. “My dad kind of stayed on me a lot. Everything I do, he’ll tells me I could do it better. He’ll tell me I should have done this move or that move, and I’m like, ‘man let me play.’ ”

But Charles Bryant couldn’t be happier the way things are turning out, seeing his son, now a senior, play unselfishly as GSU’s starting slotback. Maybe you learn a little about sharing when you have a big family that includes two brothers and three sisters.

One story of Johnathan’s unselfishness stuck out. It was the day Charles bought Johnathan a four-wheeler to ride in the town’s Martin Luther King Day parade. Another boy had a nicer four-wheeler.

“Kids at that age get jealous, but all Johnathan cared about was what he had,” Charles said.

It meant Johnathan would get fewer opportunities to carry the ball and would be counted on to block more.

But it didn’t matter to Johnathan, who cares more about winning than touches. And he knows his dad will be watching just as intently as if he received 25 carries a game.

“It’s always good to come off the field and see him, especially if you did good,” Johnathan said. “He’ll be critical, but he always has my best interest at heart, and I take it to heart everything he says. He’s just trying to be a father, and I know that.”

Growing up right

J.J. Wilcox says playing sports was about the only thing to do in Cairo. The rural town with a population of about 10,000 is located 30 miles north of Tallahassee, Fla.

“It’s a very small town,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody. If you get in trouble, they have permission to whip you, take you back to your parents and you get another whipping. That’s the kind of environment it was growing up in Cairo.”

J.J., like most rural kids, played football in the backyard. His father was strict, a quality he appreciates more now.

“I’m very blessed,” said J.J., a senior safety. “Every day I want to show all the hard work and discipline he put on me paid off. I know deep down he plays the game through me, I just want to show how much I appreciate it playing on this field.”

Dad had some advice for playing Georgia.

“Don’t get beat deep and lock up when you tackle,” said the elder Wilcox. “This game will be exciting. It brings back a lot of memories.”

James Wilcox and his family will be in the Sanford Stadium stands this afternoon. But they won’t be traveling with Charles Bryant who is coming over on his own and will be making a stop in Atlanta after the game to see his daughter.

Georgia Southern’s football season is winding down, but Charles and James hope they can continue their travels.

“Hey, maybe we’ll be going to professional games together,” Charles Bryant said.